Rob Ford has gone on vacation after two years of the most comically dramatic — or dramatically comic — mayoralty imaginable.

And, when he returns to Toronto to prepare to appeal his recent ouster in January, just one thing is for certain: There will be many more polling results in his future.

Demand is certainly there from the mass media, political supporters and rivals and an industry that is aiming to keep itself looking relevant if not always accurate.

The three-year road that took him from a suburban councillor to a mayoral contender, landslide election victor, polarizing figurehead, and finally to ousted scandal-plagued politician has been paved with lies, damn lies — and no shortage of statistics.

Like any subject of polling, different methodologies are employed by different companies, which can result in a bit of a blur. How many respondents to one outlet asking their opinion about Ford are simply reacting to reports they heard about a previous opinion of Ford?

Recent polls have suggested that Ford would gain enough support to hang on to his job. This data has also been disputed by those who point to the lack of any declared election opponent.

With so many unknowns involved, however, it barely even matters anymore. But here’s how we got here:

Winter 2010: A survey that city councillor Ford paid $5,000 to have taken by a firm that the Toronto Star could not verify the existence of found him in third place among mayoral candidates with 17% support — far behind the longtime Liberal MPP George Smitherman, with 46%.

Spring 2010: The first significant mayoral election poll conducted by Angus Reid showed that of 413 surveyed Torontonians, 27% of the support was going to Ford, compared to 34% for Smitherman with 51% of the city still undecided in April — six months before the election.

Fall 2010: Reality trumps any poll findings as Ford prevails with 47.1%, compared to 35.6% for Smitherman and 11.7% for left-wing alternative Joe Pantalone. Major pollsters were mostly vindicated — the mysterious survey from January might have been the least reliable.

Spring 2011: Ipsos Public Affairs conducted a survey, commissioned by the Toronto Real Estate Board, that found Ford’s approval rating up to 70% by April along with enthusiasm for his ultimately unsuccessful pledge to eliminate the land transfer tax. Optimism was still in the air.

Summer 2011: A summer of discontent was reflected in a Forum Research survey in September that placed the mayor’s support at 42% — a plunge compared to that 60% from February. Ford’s response to the statistics: “I talk to people every day and people say stay the course.”

Fall 2011: Forum’s next round of automated phone calls pit Ford against mayors in other Canadian cities, which resulted in headlines that he was the second-least-popular mayor in the country, ahead of only the beleaguered Gerald Tremblay of Montreal — who resigned a year later.

Winter 2012: Strategic Communications issued numbers in February, after the dramatic defeat of Ford’s transit plan, which showed that 35% of 1,300 residents “strongly disapprove” of his mayoral performance — compared to findings that only 27% held the opposite opinion.

Spring 2012: A confrontation with reporter Daniel Dale of the Toronto Star outside of the Ford family home provided a more newsworthy context for Forum’s approval rating that was down to 33%. Further statistics gathered by Strategic showed Ford Nation to be “peeling away.”

Summer 2012: The ongoing debacles inside and outside Toronto City Hall made it easier for any poll to serve the spin that Ford stood little chance of getting re-elected. Nanos numbers at the beginning of autumn showed 26% supporting another term — 56% were up for a change.

Fall 2012: With the future of Ford’s political career uncertain pending a January appeal, a Forum poll concluded that he would be beaten 40% to 35% by Councillor-turned-MP Olivia Chow, while Angus Reid was similarly skeptical. But do all these numbers mean much anymore?

Polling is a difficult science, and 2012 has been witness to some truly epic polling disasters (both Alberta’s Wild Rose Party and the U.S. Republicans were convinced of a win that never materialized). But it’s far more complicated than simple right and wrong.